The Art Of Travel Collection - Miami Poolside Clive Christian 2019

To me, Miami Poolside is a Clive Christian that clearly stands out from the brand's familiar universe. Not in terms of quality - that is unmistakably at the high level one expects from Clive Christian. Rather, it is the way this fragrance tells its story.

It feels less classic, less British, less formal. Miami Poolside creates its very own world.

And to me, this world is called: Miami.

Warmth on the skin. Light. Art. Beauty. Architecture. The sea in the immediate vicinity. A gentle breeze drifting in from the water and pleasantly cutting through the heat. This is precisely the atmosphere that seems to have been captured in this fragrance.

At the same time, Miami Poolside never becomes loud or overpowering. On the contrary: I find it surprisingly mild, soft and elegant. The maritime freshness does not feel cold or sharp, but blends wonderfully with a warm, almost sun-drenched overall mood.

The exciting part is this contrast: warmth and sea breeze at the same time.

And then that special moment arises, one that cannot be forced with a fragrance: the wow effect.

You smell it and immediately notice that something is different here. To me, Miami Poolside is not trying to come across like a typical Clive Christian at all. Precisely because of this, it has a character all its own within the brand.

Where other Clive Christian fragrances embody opulence, British tradition or classic elegance, I see a different form of luxury here: lightness, sunshine, modern art and the joie de vivre of Miami.

To me, it is almost an olfactory image: a warm day, the view of the water, modern architecture, palm trees, art and that light salty breeze in the air.

Heavenly beautiful. Mild. Maritime without becoming sharp and aquatic. Warm without being heavy. Luxurious without needing to push itself into the foreground.

Miami Poolside is different from my other Clive Christians.

And that is precisely what makes it so special to me.

With tequila shots, something good rarely begins, but fortunately, that's the case with the untypically modern Poolside.

Well, tequila as a fragrance note is missing both in the puristically designed fragrance pyramid and in the scent itself, but it starts off with a concentrated dose of salt and lemon - a combination that likely leads directly to the chosen Mexican spirit for reckless nights without detours in my limbic system.

However, this top note quickly develops a certain depth, the salt gains definition, becoming rough and heavy. Perhaps it really carries a hint of a sea breeze with it.

It lies close to the skin, this sparkling-powdery texture, similar to Roja Dove's Oceania. A subtle sweetness emerges in the air. After the shots come the cocktails: As the aftertaste of lemon begins to fade from my imaginary hand, the mojito accord makes its appearance.

The mint is pleasantly rounded, soft, and sweet. Instead of lemon, lime is now appropriately present. Greenish-sweet, the day at the pool passes - the entire nonchalance of the rather unexcitable companion of warm summer evenings becomes part of the character of the perfume in this phase.

As the lime disappears behind the green leaves that join the mint, there’s a hint of sweet fruitiness in the air. The fragrance pyramid claims that watermelon is in play. However, this light hint of sweet nothing reminds me of the popular "1872 Mandarin | Clive Christian," and therefore I suspect the namesake mandarin to be the actual player here.

All of this happens in the first hour and a half; then nothing changes for a while. The green-sweet mélange remains pleasant yet elusive on the skin, occasionally wafting lightly around before finally transforming in the base into a cousin of the aforementioned Oceania.

A very easy-to-wear and surprisingly modern Clive, which has strong designer vibes without losing complexity. The biggest weakness is probably the rather limited longevity - one might almost be grateful to Clive Christian for releasing this scent as a travel size, so one can constantly reapply.

But only almost, because 15 ml is indeed very little for such an easy-to-wear fragrance.